It’s been more than six months now that COVID-19 has upended supply chains and strained markets, yet dairy farmers and their workers have continued to milk, feed, clean and provide high-quality care for their animals. Producers have worked hard to make sure their farms continue to be a safe place for workers. Personal protective equipment has become an even greater priority in the milking parlor and has become commonplace during farm visits and virus-necessitated activities. Stepped-up sanitation measures also have been implemented to prevent the spread of disease, as have social distancing measures and additional training.

Managers must remain vigilant so as not to jeopardize the health of their workforce, their families and their communities. Guidance for the prevention and management of coronavirus on dairy farms is listed below. Visit www.nmpf.org/coronavirus for additional resources and the latest updates.

• Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and Animal Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, FDA and OSHA
• Interim Guidance for Agriculture Workers and Employers, CDC and U.S. Department of Labor
• Agricultural Employer Checklist for Creating a COVID-19 Assessment and Control Plan, CDC
• Dairy Farmer Handbook on Coronavirus Prevention and Management, NMPF
• Recommended Protocols for Dairy Farms When an Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19, NMPF
• COVID-19 Recommendations for Dairy: What to Do on Your Farm, Center for Dairy Excellence
• COVID-19 and Your Dairy, Cornell Cooperative Extension
• Use of Respirators, Facemasks, and Cloth Face Coverings in the Food and Agriculture Sector During COVID-19, FDA
• COVID-19 Agricultural Employer Training Guide, UC Davis

Resources in Spanish

• Interim Guidance for Agriculture Workers and Employers, CDC and U.S. Department of Labor
• Dairy Farmer Handbook on Coronavirus Prevention and Management, NMPF
• Staying Proactive on the Farm: COVID-19, Adapted from Dairy Farmers of America materials
• Poster: What You Need to Know Now About Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Your Dairy, Alltech
• Video: COVID-19 Recommendation for Agricultural Workers, Cornell Cooperative Extension
• Video: What is a Virus and How Can We Protect Our Loved Ones? Alltech

REMINDER: The signup deadline for USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program is Friday, September 11. Click here for more information.

Many of the workers who most deserve celebration this unique Labor Day aren’t taking the day off.

That’s because they’re in hospitals, working on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. They’re taking extra time to prepare classrooms, hoping their efforts might lower the risk of an outbreak as students return. And they’re working on dairy farms, because wholesome nutrition is a never-ending need. Cows don’t stop producing milk because it’s a holiday. Dairy never stops, and neither will its workforce.

They deserve recognition every day, but today presents us a unique opportunity.

Even as technology becomes an ever-greater part of agriculture, much of dairy farming remains labor-intensive. Cows must be fed and milked two or three times a day, 365 days a year, around the clock. Many farmers rely on skilled workers and or family to care for their animals, milk cows and tend crops. The average dairy farm has five employees, and larger farms even more, making success a team effort. Together, dairy farmers, dairy workers and their families are pillars of rural communities nationwide.

That’s been especially true this year. As COVID-19 has upended supply chains and strained markets, dairy farmers and their workers have continued to milk, feed, clean, and provide the high-quality care for their animals. In the first days of the crisis, these workers were deservedly recognized as part of the nation’s essential critical infrastructure, an acknowledgement of the importance of their work. Their efforts have kept milk, cheese, and other dairy products in stores, refrigerators, food banks, and meal programs for children and seniors, providing essential nutrients in the diets of millions of Americans.

Dairy farms large and small have worked hard to make sure their farms continue to be  a safe place for workers. Personal protective equipment has become an even greater priority in the milking parlor and has become commonplace during farm visits and virus-necessitated activities. Stepped-up sanitation measures also have been implemented to prevent the spread of disease, as have social distancing measures and additional training.

When Prairie Farms Dairy workers donated milk to community members in need in Illinois, masks were mandatory. Meanwhile, managers at Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana have been trained in capacity limitations for buildings and exhibits and are required to complete a health check assessment prior to returning to work and before each shift. Examples like these abound across the country. Together, the dairy industry through its FARM program has developed guidelines to reduce risk and prevent and control the spread of coronavirus in the workplace and on the farm, and farmers are continuing to adjust their operations based on federal guidance and these industry best practices.

Aside from the coronavirus, other challenges continue, and some are getting worse. A big challenge  for the dairy workforce – part of an agricultural labor sector that is over half composed of immigrants – is that there simply aren’t enough native workers eager to work on dairy farms despite being offered higher wages and benefits. (Dairy farmers can speak out on their labor needs here.) NMPF has pursued agricultural labor reform for decades – the House of Representatives got closer to it late last year with the imperfect, but promising, Farm Workforce Modernization Act, but urgent attention to COVID-19 stopped progress cold in the Senate.

But like dairy farming itself, efforts to improve dairy’s labor situation can’t stop either. The H-2A guest-worker visa program, used by many in agriculture to attract seasonal foreign labor, doesn’t fit dairy’s year-round needs, but with a few tweaks could be improved to be workable. Without solutions, workforce uncertainty continues to harm individuals, businesses and communities. And dairy will continue to push for solutions.

What is certain is that dairy farmers working side by side with their workers will continue to rise to provide the nation with the healthy food it needs. Just as coronavirus has made people think more about who’s working to provide their food, the importance of those workers is as clear as ever. Dairy farmers are proud of the hard work that happens every day on their farms. And for everyone who today is getting a much-needed rest – we hope with a delicious dairy product – remember, as you enjoy it, that many of the people who helped get it to you are still on the job. And give thanks for their labor.

Cooperatives Working Together in August assisted member cooperatives in securing 48 contracts to sell 2.4 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 645,955 pounds of butter (82%), 518,086 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 4.7 million pounds of whole milk powder, and 641,545 pounds of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in 16 countries in Asia, Central America, the Middle East, Oceania, and South America. The product will be shipped during the months of August 2020 through February 2021.

These contracts bring the 2020 total of the CWT-assisted product sales contracts to 74.255 million pounds of cheese, 6.934 million pounds of butter, 1.982 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 5.023 million pounds of cream cheese and 36.019 million pounds of whole milk powder. These transactions bring the total milk equivalent CWT will assist member cooperatives moving overseas to 736.3 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis overseas.

Exporting dairy products is critical during these challenging times to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country. Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting cheese, butter, anhydrous milkfat, cream cheese, pasteurized process cheese, or whole milk powder, the moving products into world markets is essential. CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

All cooperatives and dairy farmers are encouraged to add their support to this important program. Membership forms are available at http://www.cwt.coop/membership.

NMPF submitted comments to USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda Aug. 1, highlighting the U.S. dairy industry’s sustainability goals and the need for technology and innovation to help us get there.

The agenda was seeking comments in four innovation areas identified in the 2019 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Report. Topics identified in which research and innovation would be the most helpful for the dairy industry include economic and environmental sustainability; producing more competitive dairy products; and increasing job availability.

The comments supported and aligned with comments from Newtrient and DMI to support the 2050 Sustainability Goals and Net Zero Initiative.

“One of the greatest opportunities that exists for dairy farmers is their ability to provide real solutions to many of today’s biggest environmental challenges like carbon emissions, soil health, water quality, and water quantity,” the comments state.

These comments are a part of NMPF’s work for the Net Zero Initiative, which aims to reach carbon neutrality across the entire U.S. dairy industry by 2050.

The National Dairy FARM Program hosted training and recertification for evaluators and trainers in August and also interacted with stakeholders at a virtual field day, creatively continuing its mission of farmer service online.

The training took place on August 17-19 over four virtual sessions. The agenda began with a trainer session covering best practices, key training competencies and facilitation guidance, then moved on to the four evaluator segments: the FARM program itself, how best to communicate while administering an evaluation, a technical review, and animal observation calibration practice. Participants then reviewed material and took the final exam required for recertification. The virtual recertification gave FARM trainers and evaluators a comprehensive learning experience and an opportunity to stay current on their evaluator status.

FARM also participated as an exhibitor in the inaugural virtual Farm Journal Field Days, Aug. 25-27. Farmers viewed and interacted with on-screen trade show “booths” and interacted with sponsor organizations on the online platform. Visitors to the FARM booth watched videos, learned about program areas and asked FARM staff questions.

The event featured keynote speakers Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions; David Kohl, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Finance and Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech; and Gian Paul Gonzalez, Motivational Speaker, Founder and Director of Hope + Future Foundation.

NMPF submitted comments to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Aug. 21 supporting enhancements to the National List of Reportable Animal Diseases.  These proposed changes will streamline state and federal cooperative animal disease detection, response, and control efforts.

In addition to supporting the proposed enhancements to the National List of Reportable Animal Diseases, NMPF comments included detailed suggestions to provide additional clarity including:

• Clarity to ensure protection to individual privacy and confidential business information while collecting and reporting critical epidemiological information;
• Including the reporting of notifiable diseases in wildlife;
• Clarity on enforcement authority; and
• Recommendations to improve definitions for reporting requirements including “emergency,” “emerging,” “regulated,” and “immediate reporting.”

NMPF also encouraged USDA-APHIS to rapidly develop a single portal for both federal and state personnel to receive notifiable disease reports simultaneously, which would minimize paperwork for accredited veterinarians and laboratories. Dual reporting requirements would be made much less burdensome for the states, diagnostic laboratories, and other animal health professionals with such a new information technology system.

Zoonotic and foreign animal diseases remain an ever-present risk to U.S. dairy farmers and their animals, and domestic and international confidence in purchasing U.S. dairy products is intimately tied to the health of the U.S. dairy herd. A foreign animal disease incursion would disrupt the nation’s ability to maintain or expand exports of US dairy products valued at $6.02 billion, or 14.5 percent of production, in 2019.

Building on the robust support that NMPF received for its most recent grassroots advocacy campaign to comment on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report, the organization’s website has added a permanent feature offering advocates a one-stop-shop for current advocacy efforts. Dairy advocates also have the option to sign up to receive alerts and stay informed on how they can influence federal policies crucial to U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives.

NMPF’s new “Take Action” page represents an evolution in grassroots advocacy that takes advantage of  the increased opportunities industry advocates have to directly connect to federal officials and to organize on behalf of important issues. The central role federal policies play in the dairy economy, from farmer assistance and nutrition guidelines to international trade rules, makes it increasingly important for dairy farmers and their allies to speak up and make their voices heard.

The new page makes available tools dairy advocates can use to send an email, make a call and use social media to engage with lawmakers in a centralized, user-friendly format. Current advocacy opportunities include writing a letter to urge congressional leaders to prioritize dairy in upcoming disaster assistance and sharing stories about how agriculture labor reform inaction impacts dairy farms and communities.

NMPF and IDFA submitted joint comments Aug. 13 to the re-opened docket on permitting the use of ultrafiltered milk in cheese, saying that the practice should be allowed. This docket, originally opened in 2006, has been dormant for the past 14 years, but was revived   to receive information and further comment on current industry practices regarding the use of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk in the manufacture of standardized cheeses and related cheese products, and the declaration of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk when used as ingredients in standardized cheeses and related cheese products.

“Our position is based on the simple fact – which FDA has already recognized in proposing to allow for the use of UF milk in standardized cheese – that the use of ultrafiltration in the cheesemaking process “has no material effect on the final cheese process,” NMPF and IDFA stated in their comments. The comments go on to touch on three main points:

• Liquid Ultrafiltered and liquid microfiltered milk should be permitted in making standardized cheeses;
• Ultrafitered and microfiltered milk should just be labeled as “milk” on the ingredient statement; and
• The ultrafiltered and microfiltered milk may be made in the same plant or brought in from another dairy plant in liquid form only.

The use of ultrafiltered milk has many benefits in cheese processing. It creates an efficient way to get milk to cheese plants that are a large distance apart. Transportation of UF milk is often more cost-efficient, because unnecessary water is removed through filtration before shipment. Finally, it reduces the environmental impact of cheese making by shipping more milk in fewer loads.

NMPF urges FDA to re-evaluate its temporary  enforcement discretion position on ingredient labeling of ultrafiltered milk and make it permanent and expand the proposal to include microfiltered milk in cheesemaking.

The critical role that U.S. dairy exports play in Wisconsin’s economy and beyond took center stage at a virtual town hall Sept. 1 co-hosted by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council and organized by Farmers for Free Trade, a coalition of pro-trade farm organizations, as part of an ongoing “AgTalks” series generating discussion of important issues on agriculture and trade.

The event featured NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern and panelists from across all aspects of Wisconsin’s dairy supply chain, including and Jeff Lyon CEO of NMPF member cooperative FarmFirst. Panelists discussed how expanding dairy trade opportunities brings tangible benefits to America’s dairy farmers, processors, exporters and rural communities.

“America’s dairy farmers help produce high-quality dairy products that are renowned around the world. These exports drive economic growth here at home and create new jobs in rural communities that have borne the brunt of years of recession. . We cannot accept unjust trade barriers that limit our export dairy market access.” The dairy industry in Wisconsin, and across the country, is counting on the U.S. government to help open new doors and strengthen our international supply chains through a robust and forward-leaning trade policy,” said Mulhern.

Other featured guests included moderator Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council; Jeff Schwager, President of Sartori Cheese; Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin; and Randy Romanski, Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture.

For those who were unable to attend the Wisconsin AgTalks Town Hall, a recording of the event can be found here.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service once again approved the FARM Animal Care Program’s animal welfare standards, determining that the program’s 4^th version meets the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Specification. FARM was the first animal-care program in the world to have its updated standards verified through this process.

“The ISO certification for the FARM Program demonstrates its importance and validates our industry’s commitment to animal care not only domestically but also in the world market,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, which administers the FARM program.

The assessment to the ISO standard determines whether animal welfare programs meet international standards for animal care as set by an independent standards-setting organization. FARM was evaluated to ensure that the standards in Version 4.0 of its Animal Care program meet the highest quality in species-specific welfare practices.

The USDA verification signifies to FARM Program participants that its standards are among the best in the world. It also signals to consumers they can have confidence their dairy products were produced in accordance with the highest level of science-based animal care.

FARM was the first livestock program in the world recognized for the technical specification in 2018. It repeated the USDA verification process to provide an additional level of assurance for the improvements made to the program in its fourth iteration.

The monthly margin under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for July was $12.41 per cwt. This was an increase of $2.42 per cwt. from the June margin. The milk price increased by $2.40 per cwt., from $18.10 per cwt. in June to $20.50 per cwt. in July. The feed cost calculation for July was just $0.02 per cwt. lower than in June.

Since March, the milk price has been by far the most volatile component of the DMC margin, showing month-to month changes, either down or up, that have averaged $2.83 per cwt. By contrast, the monthly changes in the feed cost component have averaged just $0.19 per cwt., and have been all declines, during that same period. Even the individual items in the feed cost formula have been relatively stable, with monthly price changes since March averaging, on a per hundredweight of milk basis, $0.15 for corn, $0.05 for soybean meal, $0.04 for all alfalfa, and $0.06 for dairy-quality alfalfa.

The pandemic is not yet through gyrating the milk price. Current dairy futures anticipatie a drop of well over $3 per hundredweight in the U.S. average all-milk price during the two months from July to September. The milk price outlook for the fall months has weakened in recent weeks as the second wave of Covid-19 infections continues, darkening the outlook for dairy use in food service and schools, and doing the same for the overall economic outlook. The current delay by Congress in agreeing to another pandemic relief package has added to this uncertainty as well.

The USDA-sponsored DMC Decision Tool is currently anticipating a drop in the margin of $3.30 per cwt. from July to September, with small payments for $9.50 per cwt. coverage occurring in both September and October, as shown in the chart below.

The DMC information page on NMPF’s website offers a variety of educational resources to help farmers make better use of the program.